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Topic: The People of Ice (Read 4504 times)

Inspired by the old ''A perfect home'' thread. I decided to pull it from it's grave and resuract it.

''From the north they came,the people of Ice. Tall,fair haired,strong of arm and chest. Riding on the backs of abominations,they slew all that stood in their way,sowing terror and carnage with their blades of crystal,far stronger than anything made of iron or bronze could ever be. And in their wake,followed a bitter winter on the land that could never be thawed. It caused rivers to freeze over,farms and fields to turn fallow. Such was the curse inflicted on us by the being they worship. It has no form that can be seen,no nature that can be discerned. What we can tell however,is that is an elemental of ice that possess unrivalled power. The savages call upon it when they wish to cripple and devastate out fair lands. The Ice Lord,they name it,the god that will smite their weak foes,or so they boast. For now,may the Divine One be praised,it is but a vain boast for as the chieftains of the Ice squabble with one another,they unwittingly give us the chance to lick our wounds and brace ourselves for any further assault they might throw against us. But on the day when their divine champion,the Wurrang,he who will unite the tribes of Ice, is born,the Divine One help us all.''-Aphso,commander of the Northern Wall,brother to the King of Hirosh.

This is a setting where two different worlds comes into conflict,the first the non-nomadic cultures of the Southern Plains,a collection of farming and settlement building tribes and cultures whose people sometimes cross the Great Ocean to trade with the exotic lands that lie beyond. Among them are the once mighty but now decaying quasi-empire of Hirosh,the brave and learned tribes of the Allluvan hills and valleys and the little jungle and marsh dwelling folk that paint themselves and hunt with flint tipped arrows. Menacing their way of life and very existance,are the Ice People,savage barbarians that have swarmed over the great mountains that have hithero seperated their perpetually ice bound land from the fair and verdant Southern Plains. Driven as they are to place the entire world in the icy grip of the horrid entity they worship,these blood crazed warriors led by their demon summoning shamans are greatly feared and hated by the people they seek to destroy.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

It will need to be quite large to be riding beast, so in the polar environment that means a large creatures has to be a carnevour. So besides awsome claws and huge sharp teeth, it has a strong sense of smell and perhaps some vision that sees limitedly into the IR.

To be a riding beast in a land of ice and snow it needs huge paws and retractable claws (Siberian Tigers, fastest tundra predator).

To be an abdomination, it needs to not look like any normal creature in the low lands. So maybe six legs (Good for support and running) and a tail (like a reptiles - suitable for swiming propulsion). Lets add four red eyes... large and oddly shaped... goat like (always a sign of Evil)... It will have nicataing eye lids in addition to external eye lids...Maybe an odd shaped head.. mouth full of teeth... maybe the same as a Chinese Fu Dog.. broad and round...So we can have a big ruff around its neck.

These creatures are gifts from the Ice Lord, (or at least their domestication... if it can be called that) so they are called his avatars... Spirits of the Ice or however that translates.

Perhaps they are much like Wolves... who in their early domestication had a seperate pack structure which lived besides the human pack... so the Beasts are still somewhat wild, but will accept the riders because they kill things the critters can later eat...

They are the totem animal of the the Wurrang. Thus the symbol of his power.

So we have a white furred creature some three to four meters long, with six legs (ending in broad paws with retracting claws). They have a powerful long tail (add one to two meters to length) suitable for whacking foes or propelling the beast in the water. The head is broad and round. The mouth is huge and filled with several rows of teeth. It has four goat-like eyes for 270 degrees of vision on its face. They probably see into the IR as well (which is only limitedly useful in the world of snow and cold). It has a thick ruff that the riders that protects its vunerable neck and chest (like a lion). The riders probably hang on to it while riding.

The creatures hunt in packs. This means the tundra to the north must have some megafauna for these things to hunt... bigger than mammoths... furry dinosaurs in the north? ....

Yep,it sure does,Moon! I can imagine armies of these things crossing the mountain passes,easily passing through terrain that would make an army of horses or elephants balk. And in winter,when heavy snow fall would normally prevent troop movements,raiders mounted on these things would be able to cover great ground.

I like the comparison you made with wolves. These creatures would be loyal to their human riders,knowing that whether or nor their bellies are filled,depends on their ability to obey their human masters. They would also be able to work together in large units,given their pack instincts. Regarding their orgin,I'd like to think that they were animals native to this region that like all the othere beasts,have been slowly warped to exaggeratedly large sizes by the Ice Lord throughout the millenia,making them gifts form the Ice Lord like you suggested. As for the mega-fauna they feat on,I shiver to think of the boundless possibilites that await me! What do you think,should I kick this thread into action by starting with the great shaggy haired beasts that roam the Ice Lands and their relationship with the people of Ice?

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

The IceLord is extending Tundra down into the lowland. We now have ice fields. There are many changes you have to consider.

The local flora and fauna are doomed. Very few critters can easily adapt to the new icy environment. A few odd animals will find a nitch in the new icefields. Plants and grasses are soon to die (destroying agriculture as they know it). Trees may survive for a time, but eventually they will die off and be replaced by evergreens other mountanous trees (which even those will go away... after soil nutrients are used up... leaving nothing but ice).

And the species from the Cold Lands will move south with the advance of The Tundra supported by the IceLord. Thus people of the Warm Lands will encounter the huge megafauna of the north... giant furry dinosaurs. These large pondering creatures will probably hybernate between meals.. which means when they are mobile they are probably hungry. Some are going to be semi-aquatic, so they will follow rivers down. Eventually, they will escape into the open waters and lakes bordering the Cold Lands.

To quote Neo, "Woah"

So imagine the poor Warm Lander encountering one of these things that has migrated a bit farther south. I mean our abominations were the pack hunters of their area and look how nasty they are. This means their prey must require that level of hunter. So these huge creatures require six or so of the abdominations to bring them down.

Think about that.

Okay, so the monsters from the Cold Lands will actually be the shock troops of the IceLord. They will waunder into the WarmLands looking for food and find it and no natural predators that are even a threat. They will destroy all the possible food, mess with the ecology, and mangle other animals... including humans. They will take over their new ranges and breed. Even Humans will only be a minimal threat, unless the local armed forces are thrown at them.

Then apply the Cold Landers who might occasionally raid. I mean really, who needs a concerted effort. Eventually the Ice Lord will dominate the world at this rate unless the Warm Landers get their act together.

Yep,sure sounds promising for Rp's. Oh,I can imagine Sentinel and I having great adventures with this! Now to start work on my setting!

Coming soon: The Land of Ice and the great beasts that stalk it.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

''When the barbarians of Ice crossed the great mountain passes,they encountered very little in the way of resistance put up by the children of the Southern Plains. Most of the once lush fells and valleys of the countrysidehad already been devastated by the arrival of a far greater scourge,causing great famine and devastation to the land. The wretched people could not scrounge together enough food to survive,let alone marshall enough warriors to fight off the savages. Nay,they had been all but destroyed by a far more fearsome foe.

Preceeding the waves of invading Ice People,came great beasts that dwarfed any living thing of mother earth. Bloated,fell things of terror they were,wandering where the Ice spread it's cold arm. Where the native beasts like the deer and boar perished in the vile fields of ice brought about by the Ice,they seemed to thrive. All manner of strange types they came in,these demonic creations of the Ice,with no two kinds alike in any way.

The curious thing about them,was that upon devouring a large meal,they would fall into a deep slumber,awakening only when their vast bellies prodded them into awakening again. And then would their pattern of destruction continue again.

Ahh,how I wish that only a few of those brutes had come to blight our lands! Had that been the case,the local warriors would have been able to dispatch them as they slumbered. But with vast herds of them moving through our lands,there was very little we could do to stop their advance. Worse still,some of them will not be deterred from crossing into other lands by the rivers so common in our lands,possesed as they are of the ability to swim.. May the Godess of rivers swallow those vermin,should they dare to pollute her with their foul bodies!''- Eric the Wolf,King of the Iceni.

BEASTS OF THE ICE:Megafuna

A man of the south would expect the land of the Ice people,choked as it by the snow and ice,to be devoid of animal or plant life of any kind. This is not the case. Even in that land of never ending blizzards and snow falls,life thrives. Giant mosses and grasses,blessed with ability to endure the numbing cold,,thrive with grudging approval of the Ice,as do soaring ever greens. Feeding on these,are bizzare beasts of all kind that are in turn,fed on by predators. All have been twisted into unatrually large sizes by the malice of the Ice. The barbarians depend on these great beasts for food and other much needed neccesities. Not suprisingly,a way of belief has long been in existance,where the people of Ice revere the animals sharing their icy home as gifts to them by the harsh,yet benevolent Ice lord. For this reason,hunts have become something of a religous ceremony,with rituals done to appease the spirits of the beasts when they are slain.

The giant herbivores roaming the wind swept expanses of giant moss,consist of herds of Ishtat,Kamach,Hulork,Shator,Kisthar and Rashash as the Ice people name them.

Ishtat -Imagine a triceratops with that same bony frill and three massive horns,but covered in thick gray fur and you get a rough idea of what an Ishatat looks like. Then take away that beak shaped mouth and replace it with a long slender head shaped like a tapir's,from which hangs a long blue tounge covered with rough bumps that help the Ishtat to scrape off moss. Throw in a ridge of bony spines along the back and you have an Ishtat.

Only males have the three horns,though it is common to see some males with broken off stumps. They move in herds of females,each led by an alpha male. These males are highly aggressive and often battle with one another for controll of the herds,with some dying from injuries inflicted by the cruel horns of their rivals. Feared for their bad temper,these males will charge at anything they see as a threat to their herds.

For this reason,hunters riding their abombinations,are extremely careful to select females or calves trailing behind the rest of their herd,knowing that picking off stragglers will help them avoid the male. This is highly desiarable,for the alpha male is a truly fearsome opponent,standing 8 meteres at the shoulder and measuring 15 meters from nose to tail. Females are a little smaller,standing only 5 meters at the shoulder and streching 6 meters from head to tail.

Despite the danger involved in bringing down an alpha male or maybe because of it,there are some tribes that slay them for the smallest of their horns which they then turn into war horns for their chieftains. It is believed that these horns carry great power and that any who blow on them,will send terror spreading through the enemy during a battle.

Kamach-These creatures look like an apatosaurus crossed with an elephant.

Like the apatosaurus,these things have long serpentine necks and thick,trailing tails,but they also have the two broad ears of the elephant as well as the two giant curved tusk that protude from the sides of their massive lizard like heads. With these tusks and their forelegs,adult Kamach push down huge evergreen giants so that calves that are too short to reach the leaves,can enjoy them with the adults. They strip the leaves off the branches with their long,prehensile tounges and sometimes eat the bark as well,though this is not as prefered as the leaves.

Needless to say,these great beasts cause great devastation wherever they go pushing down trees and crushing moss with their giant feet the way they do. For this reason,they are unwelcome both by herds of other beasts and the tribes whose land they pass through.

A common method among the barbarians of Ice to disperse herds of these animals,is to mimick the keening wail of an abombination. It always works,causing great panic among the beasts. This is a mystery,as most herds of Kamach have nothing to fear from the abombinations,even large hunting packs. If threatened,the dominant femals of the herd immediately form a defensive circle around the calves,creating an all but impenatrable barrier around the vulnerble members of the herd. And given their size,(females stand at twenty meteres and measure thirty meters from chest to tail with males being half that size),even an enraged Ishtat male would think twice before attacking a herd of Kamach. Hunters always lure a Kamach away from it's herd before they slay it.

Though very dangerous,the prize to be had is well worth the risk. A female Kamack can feed a tribe for two whole weeks and it's gorgeous pelt of shiny black can be made into cloaks and mantles that a chief would pay handsomely for.

Hurlok-It is hard to decide on whether a group of Hurlok is called a herd or flock.

This is due to the confusing nature of the beast. Hurloks resemble an emu swollen to fifty times it's normal size. With a few variations. Unlike an emu,a Hurlock has no feathers,but is instead covered with coarse brown fur that is very thick Furthermore,it has no wings at all,making it's twin legs the only appendages that it posses and gives birth to live young instead of laying eggs. Neither is it's diet what one would expect a bird to eat,composed as it is,of the bark from evergreen trees. Thus,it is anyone's guess what a Hurlok really is.

The barbarians of Ice of course,do not care if an animal is beast or bird as long as it makes fine eating. And this the Hurlok does. It's flesh is tender and succulent,unlike the tought stringy meat of an Ishtat or Kamah. It also helps that Hurloks are much easier to hunt than either Ishtat or Kamach. Though a rather fearsome looking creature with it's huge beak,the Hurlok is actually a timid scatter brained creature. When hunters mounted on abombinations are unleashed at a group of Hurlock,instead of attempting to hold together and fight off the hunters,they flee in all directions,making it easy for the hunters to bring down two or even three of the avian like things. The Hurlok indeed,is the closest thing the Ice Lands have to a turkey.

Shator-A large hunched animal,the Shator is what you would get if you bred a kangaroo with a stegosaurus.

Covered with a dark brown pelt,the Shator stands upright at a height of 16 meters on two powerful back legs. It's four comparitively slender fore arms are tipped with curved black claws that can easily shred an amombination or man apart. It's back is covered with rectangular bony plates that prevent an attack from the back and it's long,muscular tail is ridged with savage spikes that are tipped with venom.

But the most interesting thing about the Shator is the pouch like flap of skin that some of them have on their belllies. These are found only on males and have a unique purpose. Little Shator are kept in them. though the nuturing of infants has traditionally been a female responsibility in most of the animal world,the femael Shtor's duty ends when she lays a clutch of eggs during the mating season after copulating with a male. It is the male that cares for the hatchlings by depositing them safely in his pouch where he can keep any eye on them and satisfy their hunger with the moss he scrapes off.

Hunters out on the prowl for Shator meat,avoid the males with their infants who stay together in large groups for protection and instead stalk the females that wander alone. To avoid the horrendous claws and vicious tail of the Shator,hunters have the beast surrounded with thier quickest abombinations. By moving quickly enough to avoid the Shator's repeated strikes,they will slowly wear the beast down until it is too exhausted to fight back

Kishtar- A massive gigantic hairy centipede a hundred feet long and twenty feet wide,it feeds on moss and grasses and can strip an area bare within days.It's three beaks are not all that dangerous, but all other it's body it has tentacles with hooked stings on the end the size of billhooks,which cause nasty wounds and horrible pain.When attacked by predators it rolls into a circle and lashes out with the tentacles.

The Ice People have worked out that the way to kill it is to fire arrows,spears and tridents into it's body from out of range of the tentacles.It takes a lot of them to kill one adult, but it is worth the effort. The tentacles can be used as weapons,ropes, belts and torture impliments, whilst the meat of the creature tastes very good and can feed a whole tribe for days.

The creatures travel in family groups-one adult male,one adult female,and several calves,the calves being twenty feet long and three feet wide.

Interestingly,all Kistasr that one might spot,are female. Male Kishtar do indeed exist,but they are extremely small and live their whole lives in the reproductive system of the hulking female to fertilize her eggs.

Rashash-Easily the most feared of the Ice beasts. Even herds of Kaamch and Ishatat will give this creature a wide berth. And for good reason. In the tounge of the Ice People,it's name means ''death on the air.''

Roaming the snowy wastes of the Ice in small herds made of up breeding pairs that mate for life,the Rashash goes where it will,with no fear of either Ice folk or predators. Onlt the msot desparte tribe would choose to hunt them,risking the lives of it's best hunters and abombination beasts. And indeed,to the eye of a puny human,this creature seeps danger and dread.

It resembles huge bloated gas-bag on small,hinged legs,with females a deep purple and the smaller males a vibrant orange. Both sexes have a warm breath that can melt snow (and poison those around it.) It uses the breath to make moss/lichen ect that is covered by ice visible so that it can eat it. It has to warm this breath over hours, then let it out,so it is a one-shot weapon, but deadly,suffocating all within a fifty meter range. This viscous cloud cannot be blown away by even the strongest wind,but lingers around the Rashas that exhales it,forming a thick cloud. The thing comes in herds of up to twenty.

Though having no fur,the Rashas are able to keep warm in even the msot brutal blizzard,thanks to their bladder which generate a fierce body tempreature. The bodies of dead Rashas that are left behind by the herd,are cut up by hunters on a long trek that want to get their hands on the bladder that can easily make a man forget the blinding cold of the Ice Lands. Thus,cloaks and other garments made of this material are in great demand.

The egg sacs laid by the female are considered delecacies and are reputed to give one enhanced strength or vision. For this reason,in some tribes,there are group of hunters that are sent to search for these egg sacs that are normally laid under piles of decaying moss.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Ishtat,Kamach and Hurlok completed. Shator and the other two should be completed soon.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Finished the Shator,perhaps the most interesting of the mega-fauna I have created so far. More to come. once I' done with them,I'll move on to the orgins of the Ice and it's way of manifesting it;s power.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

He is almost a god, more of a nature spirit or demon spirit gone amok.

Long ago, he reigned supreme over the world... all of it was covered in ice/ snow/ cold (except maybe in the summer months near the equator). He was the personification, the spirit of the last Ice Age. He was a cold and greedy creature. He reveled in his power.

(Perhaps he had a people of his own, the cold people, the Trolls....)

Then came the spirits of Spring and Summer (Gods of sorts maybe, or other nature spirits who had slumbed then awoke). They drove him back to the most frozen north and bound him there. These being of Spring and Summer killed off his children, the monsters of the cold, with their great heat and then later a flood.

The IceLord raged against his imprisonment. Yet he was powerless to extend his reach.

Over time, the power of Spring and Summer spirits waned (perhaps time for Autum?). The eternal spring was over, and cycles began anew. The ice and cold occured naturally in the North Lands. As the snows and ice built up over the centuries, much of the North Lands were white all year long. It was in this creeping of natural ice that the IceLord found his way out.

Humans, an inventive bunch, had taken to living in the frozen North Lands, hunting the few remaining types of Great Beasts. The IceLord contacted them, though their Spirit Speakers. The details are fuzzy, but the IceLord promised them everything for their obedience. (So far nobody is unhappy with the deal). Strengthened by worship, he brought back more of his ancient animals... long lost to the Eternal Spring and the Flood. Wtih more food came more strength and numbers... they learned the warriors way. He gave them abominations to ride... they hunted and fought more. In their spilled blood the IceLord gained Strength and lent it to his peoples.

He through his people to the South. While he spilled much blood that empowered him, he could not take the South or manifest much power there... it was simply too war.

The clans of his people retreated eventually and fell to squabbling with themselves. Their blood empowered him as much as the blood of his enemies (those children of the South, children of the Spring and Summper spirits). He rested and plotted. He watched the South people. He learned.

He gave commands that Spirits Speakers should build a Cairn in his land. This pile of stones, skins, ice sculpture, and human remains, was a place of worship... a new concept to the generally nomadic folk. It anchored and strengthened him. He commanded them spirit speakers to build more of these, in a chain out from the central cairn. As the cairns reached the edges of his domain, he was able to create more snow and ice, extending his white lands farther south. Slowly he is turning the lands to the south to WhiteLands, to North Lands. His animal children advance to do his bidding.

Now if just some human could assume leadership and become his avatar, he would lead his human people to destroy all those of the Spring and Summer peoples.

Just what I had in mine,Moon Hunter, Just the kind of story I was looking for. I'll use this as the base for the creation of the Ice,then move on to a more detailed desciptions of the power of the cairns dedicated to spreading the power of the Ice Lord and later,the lost Cold People or Trolls.

Thanks for giving me a solid base. By the way,mega-fauna are completed. there are six major herbivores for the Ice peope and their abombinations to feed on.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

(Will have to wait till I think of a better story. Meanwhile,I will continue working on the rest of my setting.)

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Scattered throughout the lands claimed by the Ice,can be seen certain structures of a certain nature. Each is made of gigantic black stone blocks that soars hundreds of feet into the sky,. These blocks lie in a rough circular pattern . Incised on most of their rough surfaces,are carvings depicting giant Ice beasts being hunted by misshapen hulking beings that are later seen to be kneeling and prostating before a vast altar with the head of the Ice beast lying before it. Their attitude is clearly one of adoration and devotion to the power that they worship.

But the most striking features of this peculiar structure lies in the open centre at the heart of the rough circle. A vast pit streching 50 feet across and possesing a depth of 200 feet lies there. It's bottom is draped with the hides of Ice beasts that rot there together with the assorted human remains strewn around. Most are nothing but bleached bones,indicating that slaughter has taken palce here for very long.

Standing to either side of this gaping depression,lie twin stautes of ice. A keen observer would recognize them as the same creatures shown in the carvings,but done on a much larger scale. Each grips a long pike and stands at a towering height of 25 feet,awing all wit their sheer size and terrible visages.

It is at the heart of these structures that the power of the Ice lies. For generations,the Spirit Seekers have erected these ferasome totems and have shed the blod of sacrificial vcitims there.

All that life spilled,is leached by the presence that lurks in the dark pit. One cannot see it but can feel it's choking unearthly presence that forces any intruder to cower and cringe.It is the soul of one of the Cold Ones,those anceint sons of the Ice that were completely annihlated by the Great Flood when they attempted to stop the overthrow of their creator and his subsequent exile. Though their physcial bodies were destroyed,their fell souls lingered,seeking once more to serve their master again. And so they do. When one of these shrines is erected, the Spirit Skeekers call to the wandering soul of a Cold one. When the Cold One approaches,it sees the carvings that show scenes from an age long lost,an age that once belonged to it's now extinct people.

It realizes that it's master the Ice has need of it,that the the Ice Lord wants the disembodied souls of his children to take up residence in the new homes that his minions have built for them. Here the soul of the Cold One is strengthened by the blood of the sacrifced that are brought before it. Glutted and satisfied,it summons it's now rejuvanated powers and blankets all the land within a 5 mile radius with snow,unleashing the dormant powers given by it's creator.

These shrines are are regarded as beig extremely sacred. The resident tribes of Ice People always have a heavily armed warriors standing outside to ensure that only the Spirit Seekers enter. Entrance is forbidden to all others on pain of death. That would be a kinder fate than what awaits those who do manage to sneak in. they inevitably rush out gibbering with terror,the fire of madness burning in their eyes and speak of things lost for eons. The Spirit Seekers say that their minds have been touched by the Cold one,that they have seen old knowledge that no man should see. these unfortunate individuals are killed outright. Nothing can be done to heal them. Such is the fate of those who would defile the Totem of Power.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Have edited my Totems of Power post a little. Check it out. Coming up next: Spirit Seekers and their duties in the tribe.

I should be able to put together a deacent story behind the Ice and it's worshippers by the end of this week.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Revered and honored by all,the Spirit Seeker is sacred. None may slay him,save another of his kind for only a messenger of the Ice can slay another. Even the chieftain of the tribe quails before them when they are angered. Such is the power they command.

In ages past, the ancestors of the Ice folk lived in the fertile lowlands of the Plains as peaceful farmers in uneasy co-existence with their aggresive neighbours,the more war like hill folk tribes of the Alluvial hills. But theu were forced to flee their homes by their rivals,the proud chieftains of the Alluvian hill folk when their king angered them by seducing a wife of one of the most powerful of the Alluvina chieftains. Great was the anger of the outraged hill folk and putting aside their differences,they gathered all their warriors and swept down on the kingdom of these folk with their golden chariots and spirit possed blades,leaving great destruction and misery in their wake. When they finally stormed the palace of the king who had dared to offer insult to their most powerful chieftain,they burned him alive and offered his burnt skull to the wounded chieftain to soothe his pride.

And thus were these golden haired folk scattered and broken,forced to flee into the lands of the Hirosh and the Painted People who had no more sympathy for them that did the Alluvian hill tribes. Many of them were cut down by warriors as they crossed these lands and many more were taken as slaves as this defeated people sought to cross the Great Mountains into the Ice Lands,knowing that hope for the survival of thier race lay in that land of endless winter.

Throught this dark time as this one united people were splintered into weak tribes and factions,there arose a a class of proud men to lead them. The Spirt Seekers. They were men blessed with ability to communicate with the Spirits of Nature,able to understand the demands of the elemantals. Under the kings of yore,they were honored priests and magi,helping him to apeease the Spirits. now when theier broken folk were forced to begin thier long trek to the Ice lands,they were leaders that giuded tiher flock with their wisdom.

Evantually,most of them made it to the Ice Lands. Though initially many died of the bitter cold,they soon adapted quickly and begun to hunt the great beast that wandered this icy land scape. In time,the various tribes under the leadership of their Spirit Seekers carved out a life for themselves,which though harder than the one they had left behind,had saved them from the fate of extinction. But the fire of revenge burned in their chests and they desired vengeance upon those who had disspossesd them.

It was at this time that the Ice Lord sealed away in his powerful prison,realized that a new race had wandered into the land where he was bounf forever. Adopting the guise of a true God,he reached out and appeared ias a spectre to those minds that he knew were perceptive to his presence,the Spirit Seekers. Reading their minds,he promised them not only aid in this harsh new land,but also the hope of eventual power and revenge. All he asked was that they turn their people to his worship,venerating him as the true god he was.

The Spirit Seekers were awed by the powerful presence that had spoekn to them. It was far stronger than any Spirit of Nature they had spoken too,far,far stronger. Weeping tears that a true god had finally taken pity on them,they wept tears of joy and swore on the spirits of their ancestors to be ever loyal to the Ice. The Ice Lord kept his word. He revealed to the Spirit Seekers the secret of taming the wild,ravening packs of abombinations that roamed the icy plains and bade the Spiirts Seekers tame the very beasts that had often menaced their hunting parties,with aid of offerings of offal from hunts. He showed the Spirit Seekers where the deposits of Ayut or the cyrstal stone lay,enabling their people to carve weapons of a nature far stronger than the simple flint weapons they employed. And most important of all,he told them that erecting a Totem of Power would allow them to call forth the soul of a Cold One and persuade it to do their bidding,in return for the fresh blood that these hungry spectres craved. Using this not only could they draw in greater numbers the Ice beasts they lived on,but could call on the Cold One to create hideous fiends of Ice utterly loyal to them. And thus were the Ice People born anew.

SPIRIT SEEKERS:CHILDREN OF THE ICE

Generations have passed since the first awareness of the Ice came upon these former refugees. since then the Ice has done it's best to fan the old hatred towards the people of the Southern Plains,using the Spirit Seekers as a potent tool. They are now seen as the very embodiment of the power of the Ice and swear an oath to serve it with absloute loyalty . This is the sacrifice demaded of them for the powers that are blessed with.

Spirit Seekers can be anyone. It is not a prevelige to be extended only to those that are born to a chieftain. A child of a lowly hunter can iniitated into the worship of the Ice if he is found worthy. And by no means does the acolyete have to be a male. plenty of Spirit Seekrs are female. All who posses the gift,regardless of back ground of gender,are given to the icy embrace of the Ice Lord.

Each tribe has one main Spirit Seeker who is asisted by numerous acolyetes . When he or she dies,the oldest acolyete is made Spirit Seeker of the tribe.

Spirit Seekrs are born different. All know that. They are the ones that remain outside to watch the ferocity of a full blown blizzard,while the rest of the tribe huddles inside,watching with awe and fear. Ice nad snow that touch thier exposed skin seems to move away,as if compleed to do so by some invisible force. And the lethal cold of the Ice seems to leave no mark on them. Instead,it refreshes and invigorates them,much the way warm and pleasent sun shine would cheer others. They are truly the children of the Ice. Other children thier age revere and even fear them,while their own parents are torn between pride and fear for the future that must befall their blessed children.

At 13 they have their destiny thrust on them,sometimes brutallly so. The initiation rite that the children of the Ice must undergoe in order to become Spirit Seekers is brutla and ruthless. Many do not survive them.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson